Houston Dynamo FC announced the creation of an international player identification and recruitment department to improve the Houston Dynamo FC first and second team rosters.
Tom Randle has been contracted to assist General Manager Pat Onstad and Technical Director Asher Mendelsohn build a new Player Identification and Recruitment department. The new department will include a network of internationally based scouts, a standardized scouting process and an integrated approach with Houston’s new analytic partner SRC FTBL.
“When I arrived in Houston, we recognized the need for a more robust player identification and recruitment process. The creation of this department is a significant investment by ownership to modernize our club,” said Onstad. “After an exhaustive search process, we are very happy that Tom Randle will be assisting us. He has a wealth of experience working for clubs with a history of finding undervalued talent and high potential players, and we will lean on his expertise to help us launch this new department.”
Randle served as the Head Scout for Cercle Brugge KSV in Belgian’s top division for part of the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 season. The club has played 23 games this season and currently sits in the final playoff spot for the Europa League. He joined the team a few months into the 2021/2022 season and the team finished with its best mark since earning promotion in 2018.
“When I first spoke with Pat and Asher, I was inspired by the vision for the future of the club and the support from ownership to build a new international scouting department,” said Randle. “Houston has a history of success, and my goal is to help solidify the organization as a contender for years to come.”
Randle brings nearly a decade of scouting and recruitment experience with European clubs to his role with Houston Dynamo FC. He served as the head of scouting at Norwich Football Club from 2018-2020. In that time Norwich City earned promotion to the English Premier League after finishing first in the English Championship during the 2018/2019 season. The United Kingdom native also experienced similar success with Rotherham United FC as the chief scout from Feb. 2017-Nov. 2018. In that time, he developed the recruitment team structure and modernized operations through the integration of data analysis. Rotherham earned promotion following the 2017/2018 League 1 season in England to the Championship.
Randle began his career with Crystal Palace FC and nearly spent four years with the club as a senior scout. The club was recently promoted to the English Premier League and Randle was tasked with identifying first team and youth players both in the United Kingdom and abroad. He managed and mentored a team of scouts and informants prior to departing in 2017.
In addition to procuring the services of Tom Randle, the club is building a network of internationally based scouts with a thorough knowledge in strategic markets. The scouts will be responsible for identifying and recruiting potential professional players for the Dynamo’s first and second teams.
The new Identification and Recruitment Department will complement the club’s recently expanded analytics capabilities overseen by SRC FTBL.
